Fennec Laws

Exotic pet ownership laws vary widely from country to country and state to state. In the US, please check with your state wildlife division as well as your city and county before trying to purchase a fennec fox. Some states may require you to have a USDA license in order to own or breed fennecs. Laws change frequently and may not always be up-to-date on this page. Send us any info that you have about your local laws here, to help us keep this page updated.

Animal Exhibitors
Individuals and businesses who exhibit animals to the public for compensation are required to obtain a license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS). In addition, some businesses, such as zoos, are required to be licensed regardless of whether or not they receive compensation. See more here and here.

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Allowed with a yearly Fur-bearing Mammal Breeder Permit. You have to purchase the fox from another licensed breeder and you must keep and maintain records of the purchase, sale, and propagation of your foxes.

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Under Type II of the TN Exotic Animal Laws, you may not legally own a native species. This would include Red Foxes and Grey Foxes. They are outright illegal to own. Arctic and Fennec foxes on the other hand are not native to Tennessee and therefore are legal to own without permit.

Texas

Foxes can only be owned with a fur-bearing animal permit or an educational display permit.

(1) A person may collect, import or possess live or dead animals or their parts for a scientific or educational use only as follows:

(a) Certificates of registration are not issued for collecting, importing or possessing live or dead animals classified as prohibited, except as provided in Subsection (b), or R657-3-36.

(b) The division may issue a certificate of registration to a university, college, governmental agency, bona fide nonprofit institution, or a person involved in wildlife research to collect, import or possess live or dead animals classified as prohibited if, in the opinion of the division, the scientific or educational use is beneficial to wildlife or significantly benefits the general public without material detriment to wildlife.

(2) A person shall obtain a certificate of registration before collecting, importing or possessing live or dead animals or their parts classified as controlled.

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?Cite=16

No dangerous animal of any kind is allowed to be owned in Washington.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Canada

This info is taken from Living with Foxes. Please check all information for yourself before trying to purchase a fox.

MANITOBA

In order for a person to possess domestic foxes in Manitoba, they would require a permit. However a permit wouldnot be issued to a person to possess wildlife in Manitoba to keep as a pet (the only possible way to own foxes is if you have a zoo, wildlife center (rehab) or a fur industry).

« With regards to Domestic Fennec Foxes, unfortunately these animals are not legal to own within the City of Winnipeg. As per City of Winnipeg Exotic Animal By-law 3389/83, no person, firm or corporation shall keep or harbour “All members of order Carnivora excepting domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), domestic cats (Felis catus) and ferrets. » (Dogs, cats, ferrets, fish, some reptiles (snakes and lizards), some amphibians, some birds and some rodents are the only allowed animals).

All foxes are defined as wildlife whether it is native or exotic wildlife, it is still wildlife and there are legalities to owning one in captivity in Saskatchewan and a permit would be required to import and retain them in the province. The only permit issued by the Ministry of Environment that allows an individual to retain restricted wildlife in captivity is a Commercial Wildlife Permit for Zoo Purposes.

In Nova Scotia, all foxes and other canids (except the domestic dog) are considered ‘wildlife’ and are therefore not permitted to be kept in captivity without special permission. Canids (except for the domestic dog) are not allowed to being kept as personal pets.

Fennec fox (Vulpes zerda) as well as other non-native species are members of the family Canidae and are therefore considered to be Controlled Alien Species and, as of April 1, 2010, a person in BC is required to hold a valid CAS permit in order to be in legal possession of it.

In Brandon city, you are allowed any kind of fox as long as its domestic, and if you license it every year.

You may purchase and keep a non-native species of fox as a pet in Ontario. There is no provincial permit or license required for the keeping of non-native species as pets; however some municipalities prohibit ownership of foxes and other species as pets.

It is unlawful to keep the three species of fox native to Ontario as pets, as they are designated as specially protected wildlife under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997. This includes Arctic Fox (Alopex lagopus), Grey Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes). »

Fennec foxes are not permitted as pets. This policy would be in line with the recommendations of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada, an organization which represents the pet industry in Canada. The only canid allowed for possession in Newfoundland and Labrador is the dog.

It is not permitted to keep foxes or any canids, other than domestic dogs, as pets in New Brunswick. However, they make an exception for foxes presenting unusual colors that cannot be seen on wild specimens. (no wild foxes, no wolfdogs, no wolves, no coyotes, no coydogs, no jackals, etc…).

Foxes on Fox farms in New Brunswick are considered livestock, not pets, and fall under the jurisdiction of the Livestock Operations Act.

You do not need a permit for the animal but, article 2c) of the municipal by-law respecting animal control (# 10R2011), says that all wild animals must be in a cage if it is in a public place, street or sidewalk. This means that you can own a fox but you must have it in a cage if you leave your premises.

Anyone wishing to import live wildlife into the NWT must first go through an application process and obtain a permit. The application requires submission of a health certificate from a licenced veterinarian indicating the animal is in good condition and free of diseases, parasites, etc. Once the application is received, it is evaluated and a determination is made by the Deputy Minister on whether or not to issue the permit.

134. Every owner of an exotic animal shall register their animal with the City by providing the following information for each exotic animal that is under their care :(1) Name, street address, postal code and telephone number of the owner;(2) Name and description of the exotic animal; and(3) Such other information as may be required by the City (picture of animal, age, health certificate, etc…).______________________________________________________________________

Magog : You need a permit issued by the Ministries of Wildlife & Environment, if some measures are respected.(NOT all cities within Quebec accept foxes, but laws are slowly changing, and if many people unite, make petitions and talk to municipalities of those Quebec cities that prohibit foxes, they may allow them mostly because the province legalized them as pets, and many cities in Quebec accept those animals.

Europe

No permit or any other document is needed to keep a fox as a domestic pet in most parts of Europe, because they are not listed on the DWAL list. There is no condition imposed by the government. You can move through Europe with your fox, and no license is needed to do so. Some countries even allow you to catch wild foxes and breed them/sell them as pets.

Australia

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No foxes of any kind are permitted to be owned in Australia.